CVE-2022-21741 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) CWE-369 vulnerability in tensorflow. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for tensorflow — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Division by zero in TFLite
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-21741 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
tensorflow🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-cpu🐍tensorflow-gpu🐍tensorflow-gpu+1 moreReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
An attacker can craft a TFLite model that would trigger a division by zero in the implementation of depthwise convolutions.
The parameters of the convolution can be user controlled and are also used within a division operation to determine the size of the padding that needs to be added before applying the convolution. There is no check before this division that the divisor is stricly positive.
Patches
We have patched the issue in GitHub commit e5b0eec199c2d03de54fd6a7fd9275692218e2bc.
The fix will be included in TensorFlow 2.8.0. We will also cherrypick this commit on TensorFlow 2.7.1, TensorFlow 2.6.3, and TensorFlow 2.5.3, as these are also affected and still in supported range.
For more information
Please consult our security guide for more information regarding the security model and how to contact us with issues and questions.
Attribution
This vulnerability has been reported by Wang Xuan of Qihoo 360 AIVul Team.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | all versions | 2.5.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.5.3' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.6.0&&< 2.6.3 | 2.6.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.6.3' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow | ≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.1 | 2.7.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow==2.7.1' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | all versions | 2.5.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.5.3' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | ≥ 2.6.0&&< 2.6.3 | 2.6.3pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.6.3' |
| 🐍PyPI | tensorflow-cpu | ≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.1 | 2.7.1pip install --upgrade 'tensorflow-cpu==2.7.1' |
Affected Products
tensorflowgoogleResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for tensorflow, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update tensorflow to 2.5.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-21741 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-21741 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.